Police Chief Orders Banjarmasin Police Fire Investigation

PHOTO VIA BETWEEN

BANJARMASIN - South Kalimantan (Kalsel) Police Chief Inspector General Rikwanto regretted the occurrence of a fire incident at the Banjarmasin Police, and ordered an investigation into it.

"I have ordered to investigate and check who the picket members were and how they were handled. This is something we regret, because there was a fire at the police station," said Inspector General Rikwanto, in Banjarmasin, quoted by Antara, Thursday, July 1.

Based on the report he received, said Rikwanto, the fire was suspected to have been caused by an electrical short in one of the rooms of the Criminal Investigation Unit. Luckily when it happened on Thursday morning at around 05.30 WITA it was raining, so the fire was extinguished quickly and did not spread to other rooms at the Banjarmasin Police.

"If there is an electrical short, it means negligence as well. For example, due to the installation load being too heavy or the installation method being incorrect and so on. Care should be taken in its maintenance or use so far," he continued.

Therefore, the Regional Police Chief emphasized that the fateful incident on Bhayangkara Day July 1 really needs to be revealed, so that it doesn't happen again.

The fire incident at the Banjarmasin Police scorched the building of the Criminal Investigation Unit. Many documents and files of investigators were also burned down.

The emergence of the fire also had panicked officers and patients at the Bhayangkara Hospital Level III Hoegeng Imam Santoso Banjarmasin, which is located close to the Banjarmasin Police Station.

A number of patients with IVs in their hands rushed out of the hospital, to be evacuated by officers when the fire broke out. But fortunately there were no casualties from the incident and the fire was extinguished about 40 minutes later.

The Deputy Chief of the South Kalimantan Police, Brigadier General Mohamad Agung Budijono, on Thursday afternoon checked the location of the Banjarmasin Police Criminal Investigation Unit that caught fire.

He gave directions for handling steps after the incident.